Air and Ash
Tides, #1
by Alex Lidell
Narrator: Kaitlin Bellamy
Length: 6 hours and 57 minutes
Publisher: Danger Bearing Press
Released: September 8th
2017
Genre: YA Fantasy
The Book Junkie Reads . . . Review of . . . AIR AND ASH
(Tides, #1) . . . One wonderful
adventure with fantastic and exciting magic, action, spirit, determination and
romance. Nile was more than her title. She was more than the failure in her
past. She was more than anyone knew. She had to keep that hidden from everyone,
except one. One knew who she was and maybe a bit more about her than she was
willing to share. That was until she was needed to do more, be more than anyone
average person could do. Nile was anything but average. She was more than the
most competent of humans.
Nile was young, innocent, strong, determined, and willing
to work hard to prove she was more than a princess, a pawn, a push-over. She
wanted to be more than everyone thought a young princess could be. She wanted
to show everyone including her father, the king, she could do it. Nile wanted
to be fist officer. She was willing to do what it took to show her strengths.
There was just a small problem. Jana.
Jana was an arrogant, annoying, aggravating, ruthless,
cutthroat male and he was fist officer on the ship that Nile was currently
serving on as a crew member. She comes to the ship to escape a marriage, gain
independence, respect, and along the way she gets more. Friendship. Strength.
Family. Respect. Understanding. Adventure. Nile was the backbone of this read.
Jana was the added bonus. The other characters makes the read feel like a true
adventure in life. Along the way lessons are learned and failures are utilized
as learning tools. For the first installment this was a great start to kick off
an epic adventure for Nile.
I have added the next one to my TBR. . . I have to get on
this adventure as they come along. The children loved it. We listens as a
family during the evenings. It was great bonding time.
Narrator Review of . . . AIR AND ASH (Tides, #1) . . .
Kaitlyn Bellamy did her job very well. She gave me a world that was filled with
action, drama, adventure, a touch of romance, and a bit of suspense and opened
up various possibilities with her voice alone. The diction, cadence, and pitch
were entrancing. I could just sit back close my eyes and visualize it all as it
occurred. The distinction in the various characters was very good. I was not
stuck wondering which character was talking or part of the action. Kaitlyn
allowed me to feel a part of the adventure while seated comfortably in my home.
The cadence was perfect for the children to follow along as we listened. Then
when I wanted to just enjoy it for myself the change in speed transferred just
perfectly. The pacing of things felt faster, smoother. I found the audio to be
just what we needed to enjoy a family adventure together.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with
Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Andrea Emmes. The
gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Master and Commander meets Sarah J Maas in a seafaring adventure of duty, love,
magic, and a princess’s quest to protect her kingdom on her own terms.
After a lifetime of training, 17-year-old
Princess Nile Greysik, a lieutenant on the prestigious Ashing navy flagship,
sails into battle with one vital mission – and fails.
Barred from the sea and facing a political
marriage, Nile masquerades as a common sailor on the first ship she can find.
With a cowardly captain, incompetent crew, and a cruel, too-handsome first
officer intent on making her life a living hell, Nile must hide her identity
while trying to turn the sorry frigate battle worthy. Worse, a terrifying and
forbidden magic now tingles in Nile’s blood. If anyone catches wind of who Nile
is or what she can do, her life is over.
But when disaster threatens the ship, Nile
may have no choice but to unleash the truth that will curse her future.
Air and Ash is the
thrilling first installment of the TIDES series. Recommended for fans of Sarah
J. Maas, Tamora Pierce, and David Weber.
Alex Lidell is the author of
Amazon best sellers AIR AND ASH and WAR AND WIND (Danger Bearing Press, 2017)
and an Amazon Breakout Novel Awards finalist author of THE CADET OF TILDOR
(Penguin, 2013). She is an avid horseback rider, a (bad) hockey player, and an
ice-cream addict. Born in Russia, Alex learned English in elementary school,
where a thoughtful librarian placed a copy of Tamora Pierce’s ALANNA in Alex’s
hands. In addition to becoming the first English book Alex read for fun, ALANNA
started Alex’s life long love for YA fantasy books.
Author Links:
Kaitlin Bellamy is a freelance
performer and acting coach residing in Central Florida, with a theatrical
history spanning more than twenty-five years. Since relocating to Orlando
in 2012, she has worked at multiple theme parks and various theatrical venues,
in a career style she calls “Buffet Performing:” or, the idea of keeping
several jobs active at any given time, so she may pick and choose where to
work, and life never gets boring. Her specialties include Shakespeare, Voice
Acting, and Puppetry. But above all, she is passionate about the performing
arts, and all they stand for.
Narrator Links:
Q&A with Author Alex
Lidell
Was a
possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
At the
time I was writing AIR AND ASH, no. But now that I am on the third book in the
series, having heard Kaitlin narrate AIR AND ASH, I do hear the characters
speaking in her voice as I write.
How did
you select your narrator?
I listed
to sample reels of many narrators and then invited Kaitlin to audition. I
really like the range of emotions and undertones she has within each
character’s voice.
How
closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording
process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the
characters?
Very
closely! I was really shy about sending her an audio file of my voice
pronouncing some words, but it worked :) We also have a shared google doc with
character descriptions and we spent some time on the phone “auditioning”
character voices. It was one of my favorite parts of the process and the reason
I SO love working with Kaitlin.
How do
you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for
writing?
Often by
listening to audiobooks or watching some TV shows with the right atmosphere,
and then analyzing the story/plot. What did I like about it? Why did I keep
watching and listening? How can I apply that fun thing that got me excited to
my own writing?
Are you
an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
I’m a
HUGE listener. I fell in love with audiobooks listening to Master and
Commander, where the narrator helped me understand some of the technical
seamanship. My favorite narrator (aside from Kaitlin of course!) is Jennifer
Ikeda
What do
you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior
to “real reading”?
I say
Safety First! When I get into a book, I can’t pull away from it - so I end up
walking down the street, reading my phone (yeah, i’m one of those horrible
people). With audiobooks I can walk and listen!
How did
you celebrate after finishing this novel?
I have a
habit of traveling to meet people who I’ve e-met during the writing process.
After finishing WAR AND WIND (TIDES book 2), I went to see Rachel E Carter in
CA. And in October I’m going to go see Kaitlin to celebrate AIR AND ASH
audio.
In your
opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing
a series?
I think
YA fantasy fans are often comfortable with a series - I know I am - and expect
it. Other genres have different fan bases. From an author perspective, a series
lets me tell more complex overall stories, but makes logistics difficult. IE in
book one, the distance between A and B might not matter so I say “umm, half a
day by horse, sure, why not”. And then in book 3 it becomes vitally important
that it take a WEEK to get from A to B,... and I have to somehow deal :)
Do you
have any tips for authors going through the process of turning their books into
audiobooks?
Talk to
your narrator and make sure you click as professionals. I really lucked out
with Kaitlin because of her excitement level and flexibility - but some people
prefer to have more “distance”. It was a match with Kaitlin herself, not just
her voice, that finally closed the deal for me
What’s
next for you?
WAR AND
WIND (Tides 2) comes out in audio in December. SEA AND SAND (Tides 3) comes out
in print/ebook in January!
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